Strikers and Record Deals : What happens to the rest of the team?

Neymar waves to the crowd during the official presentation as a new player of the FC Barcelona at Camp Nou Stadium on June 3, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Lets point out Torres’ career again. Ever since he made his move, he clearly looks like a player in desperate need for confidence. Doesn’t he play like a player with absolutely no knowledge of his future? It is a depressing fact that one of the world’s most feared strikers once upon a time is not feared any more. The main reason for his better and more clinical shows for Spain is the fact that he is guaranteed a chance to play, he knows his place and value to the Spanish team.

Strikers must learn to fight this fear from an early age, maybe from the days they decide to become a striker. They must if they want to score goals, any player knows there is nothing worse in football than being told that you won’t score a goal when the team needs it the most.

There is also the point of pay discrepancies that I wanted to make. There is always news of dressing rooms being at war most of the times when there is a pay discrepancy. I also pointed out the common ploy agents use to extract more money for their players. The thing is, most discrepancies happen when players come into the team for astronomical sums of money and don’t live up to the billing.

Andriy Shevchenko’s transfer was one such move, another one may be Hulk’s move to Zenit. The new scenario of Marco Veratti asking for more money only underlines this fact. His performances helped PSG to the quarter finals in the UCL, and yet, according to PSG, he doesn’t deserve a large contract, whilst players like Ibrahimovic, Silva, Lavezzi and newly acquired Cavani earn millions every year. This is the major reason for a breakout.

The steep recession in Spain is well documented. Newly built condos and apartments lying empty, an international airport being deserted, and a whole bank shutting down. Even after so much of an economic crisis, we see Real Madrid and Barcelona, spend giant piles of cash just to land a handful of players.

The Neymar and Isco deals would’ve been enough to buy the whole Scottish league and maybe build a star studded team in the English Championships. Imagine what could be done for teams struggling to clear debts? The debts that Real and Barcelona have, run into millions. Imagine the number of jobs it could create, imagine how many young players could be introduced to the game? The prospects are limitless.

The deal Real are proposing for Gareth Bale is preposterous to say the least! The money Real are ready to pay him would be enough to buy atleast 7-8 talented and cheaper options across the whole pitch, and still have enough to pay talented coaches and scouts.

The global meltdown may have been responsible for the lack of jobs from 2008-2011, but that didn’t stop the Sheiks and Oil Barons from spending bucket loads of money on their teams. Are gate collections and merchandise sales enough to cover the massive debts they already have?And the fact that most of that money went towards acquiring strikers makes it even more saddening. It is disappointing that someone like David Luiz (good all round player, but prone to defensive errors) was the highest paid defensive acquisition in the 2011-2012 season.

Spending on the whole team is the way to go, improving the whole team guarantees more wins and silverware. Shouldn’t that be of higher priority than getting a £50 million striker? Spending money to acquire good mid-fielders and defenders, along with a very talented bunch of youth players will only help the team in the long run. Putting money on good and talented ‘Keepers and Coaches will also benefit the team greatly.

Sadly, the end result is that strikers will always cost more than defenders simply because they score the majority of the goals. Goals mean points and points mean retaining jobs for the managers. At the highest level, goals mean trophies and guaranteed merchandise sales.

It’s all in the money making business, but someday the lack of quality football will only hurt the beautiful game. And that damage, sad to say, cannot be repaired by a £100 million striker.